‘No religion mandates use of elephants in festivals’: Kerala High Court wants curbs on tuskers at festivals, Pooram officials upset

The court raised concerns, considering that nearly 33 per cent of captive elephants in the state have died in the last seven years.

In proceedings initiated suo motu on “matters pertaining to inaction of the government in protection of animal rights”, a Division Bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and P Gopinath on Thursday said the state should strictly implement the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2012 and comply with the Supreme Court’s decision in the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre case.

According to the guidelines issued by the court, elephants must get a rest period, which will not be less than three days, between two exhibitions; the temporary tethering facility for elephants should be clean and spacious; there should be adequate space for exhibition or parading of elephants; the number of elephants paraded should be decided based on the available space; elephants should not be paraded on public roads during day time; and their parading should not last for more than three hours at a time.

The court said that while the extensive use of captive elephants in religious festivals in Kerala is often sought to be justified on the basis of tradition and religious practice, “we do not believe that there is any essential religious practice of any religion that mandates the use of elephants in festivals. We do not, however, propose to say anything more at this stage since our focus now is merely to regulate the practice of parading elephants during festivals.”

Reacting to the court directive, Girish Kumar, the secretary of the Thiruvambadi temple board that organises Thrissur Pooram, said on Friday: “If we follow the restrictions, Pooram will have to be shifted to a vast ground or paddy field. The direction that a particular amount of space (eight metres) should be left between two elephants is meant to destroy madathil varavu and elanjithara melam (major attractions of the festival involving elephants). Certain NGOs are out to destroy festivals.”

Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran said the government would examine the court guidelines and move an appeal if required. “Steps will be taken for the smooth conduct of Pooram and other festivals in the traditional manner,” he said.